We Can Make This Work
by very untitled
Summary: Jack didn't break up with Tess after returning to the new timeline. He instead decides to try to make it work.
1. All the Rage

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka or its characters.

* * *

"I love you."

Jack Carter's heart stopped at the sound of those three words. She loved him. He looked at the door as she walked out. Jack let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and continued to stare at the door.

"Well, I feel like an ass," he mumbled to himself before plopping down onto the couch. Unfortunately for him, S.A.R.A.H. heard him and decided to respond.

"You should," she said in her robotic voice. "I don't know what happened. You two were so happy together."

S.A.R.A.H. then brought up the many pictures she had of Jack and Tess together for him to look at. An overwhelming feeling of happiness flooded his entire body as he looked at the many smiling pictures of Tess and himself together from the past year. He could see the love in her eyes, and the love in his eyes.

"Oh, I'm SUCH an ass," he called out to no one in particular as he grabbed his keys, jumped off the couch, and ran out the door. It wasn't until he made it to his Jeep that he heard it: the sound of sniffling. His eyes scanned the darkness for the source of the sound.

"Tess…"

There she was, sitting on the ground against her car in tears.

"Sorry," she sniffled. "I was just leaving."

As she began to move to get up, Jack spoke.

"Wait." He moved to sit down next. "Tess, I'm sorry," Jack started.

Tess scoffed through her tears. "You said that already. Right before you told me to move to Australia."

Jack winced at the bitterness in her voice. He deserved it, and he had no idea how to respond. They sat quietly as Jack tried to think of something to say. Suddenly, his brain told him what to do. "Let's go somewhere," he said.

"Carter, I really don't feel like going anywhere with you."

Jack got up and dusted his pants off. He then turned towards Tess and extended his hand out for her. "Please."

Tess sighed and took his hand. She had such a weak spot for the man in front of her. He pulled her up and led her to the passenger side of his Jeep. He opened the door for her to get in. She may have been mad at Jack Carter, but he could still be a gentleman. Tess got in the car and waited for Jack to start driving.

After driving in silence for a few minutes, Tess couldn't stand it. "Where are we going, Jack?"

He smiled at her. "You'll see."

Tess stared out the window as Jack continued driving. She was exhausted from the embarrassing about of tears she shed, but she couldn't help it. One minute the man she loves was asking her to move in, and the next minute he's breaking up with her. She couldn't help but wonder what she did wrong.

Jack finally stopped at his destination, and turned to Tess. She had dozed off. Even after all the pain he had caused her, she still looked peaceful in her sleep. Deciding not to disturb her, he sat quietly, thinking of the next words he was going to say to her. He thought back to the pictures S.A.R.A.H. showed him. They looked so perfect together. Truthfully, he was crushed when Tess broke up with him before the timeline changed. He broke up with her before she could with him. Jack was pulled out of thought by the sound of Tess stirring in her seat. She turned and looked at him with a sleepy smile when she remembered the event of the day.

"I'm sorry. I must have dozed off," she said, her face turning into a look of shock. Jack looked at her with a genuine smile. He got out of the car and walked to the other side to let her out.

"Come on," he said, gently leading her out of the vehicle. "Do you remember this place?"

Tess looked up at the night sky. "How could I forget? Our first date: watching the meteor shower."

Jack gave her a nod and climbed up onto the hood of the Jeep, then extended his hand out for Tess. "Upsy-daisy," he said, pulling her up to lie on the hood with him.

They looked up at twinkling stars together when Tess spoke. "Why are we here, Jack? You broke up with me."

"Tess…I'm sorry."

"Are we back to this?" Tears started forming in Tess's eyes, again.

"Just hear me out, Tess," Jack almost pleaded. Tess wiped her tears and nodded, doing her best to keep it together.

"Did you mean it when you said you love me?"

Tess nodded weakly. "But you don't love me," she whispered.

"No. Tess, that's not true," Jack quickly responded.

"You said we weren't meant to be! What am I supposed to think?" Tess spat out angrily.

Jack sighed and decided to just say it. "I'm going to tell you something, but it's going to be a bit hard to swallow. And you can't tell anyone."

Tess scoffed, "We live in Eureka. I've learned to accept anything can happen."

"I'm serious. You have to promise me you won't tell anyone."

Tess heard the urgency in Jack's voice and looked at him. Seeing the seriousness in his face, she nodded. "I promise."

"I'm…I'm not the Jack Carter you know," Jack said with hesitance.

"I could have told you that," Tess interrupted.

"Tess. Listen. I went back in time. Well, Jo, Fargo, Alison, Henry, and I went back in time. And when we came back, everything was different. We were…well, we were here. A new world."

Jack waited for a response from Tess. He was nervous. He had no idea how she was going to react. Finally, she slowly began to speak. "So, you're saying you went back in time…and changed your present?"

"Yes."

Suddenly, Tess shot up to a sitting position. "Oh, no. No, no, no. Jack, there are military protocols. They're going to isolate you. And sanction you." She turned to look at him. "Jack…they could kill you."

Jack sat up and took her hands into his. "Not if they don't know. You can't tell anyone."

Tess nodded, "I already promised."

They both laid back down onto the hood of the car. Tess turned to look at Jack, again. "Jack, were we together in your timeline? We obviously went on our date here."

"Yes we did. It was a great date. We were doing well in my timeline."

"But…"

"But you went to Australia. We tried the long distance thing, but you… we couldn't do it. We ended it, but it was… devastating."

Tess was shocked. She couldn't imagine breaking up with Jack. She loved him. "Jack, I'm so sorry."

Jack chuckled. "Now who's apologizing?"

Tess smiled and lightly smacked him. "I'm serious. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

Jack took her hand into his again. "Don't be. It wasn't you that broke up with me. It was a mutual thing. You and I… we couldn't… well, I mean… not you… other you…"

Tess gave an amused look to the flustered Jack. I was quite entertaining.

"The point is," Jack continued, "I broke up with you earlier because I was afraid of being hurt, again. I ended up hurting you, and I'm so sorry."

Tess brought Jack's hand to her lips and kissed it. "I didn't go to Australia. I stayed here with you."

"You were happy in Australia."

"I'm happy with you."

Jack started rubbing circles on Tess's hand with his thumb. "And I'm happy with you."

Tess smiled. "What are you saying?"

Jack turned to look up at the stars. "I can't predict the future, but maybe we can make this work."

"So I can put my cat on the mantle?"

Jack let out a nervous laugh and began stammering.

"I'm kidding, Jack," Tess said, learning her head on Jack's shoulder. "We can take it slow."

Jack sighed in relief. "I'm going to do my best to be the Jack that you love."

Tess shook her head at him. "Just be you."

They fell into a comfortable silence gazing up at the stars. After a while, Tess spoke. "What else has changed for you five?"

Jack scratched his head. "I don't know where to begin, but I can tell you that six of us came back."


	2. The Story of O2

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka or its characters.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Tess asked as she watched Jack pack a small bag. He smiled and shook his head.

"I know how much you've been looking forward to Space Week and the rocket race they're having. Besides, I think it'd be nice to have father daughter time." Jack zipped up his bag, sat on his bed, and turned to look at Tess on the projected screen in his room. His heart warmed as he saw her smiling face looking back at him.

"What about Jack and Tess time?" Tess said with a playful tone. Jack chuckled. Things were going well since he told her what happened, but it had been a busy week. He knew Tess hated not being able to spend more time with him, but Space Week was not easy to prepare for.

"Breakfast? Café Diem?" he asked with a hopeful look on his face.

She nodded, "I'll see you there."

"Yeah." The screen disappeared and Jack quickly moved to leave for the café.

After parking his car, Jack walked towards the café, meeting Henry on the way in.

"Henry! How will the town survive without me?" Jack said jokingly.

Henry chuckled, "We'll get by. Everyone's been so excited for Space Week."

"Space Week in Eureka. I can see the disasters now. So glad I'm leaving," Jack replied with a laugh.

"You and Grace. I mean, she went to a conference on neurobotic prosthetics." Henry gestured towards his head.

"Oh, that sounds like a party," Jack said. "You tagging along?"

"She asked, but there's the problem of the hotel room." Henry was still getting to know his new wife, and was uncomfortable with some parts of the relationship.

"Yeah," Jack said. "Married life gets complicated like that."

Henry nodded in agreement. Before they could move to a table, Vincent rushed up to them with a large box in tow.

"Sheriff, I've made Zoe's favorites. There's cupcakes, lemon squares, cannoli."

Henry and Jack both looked in the box. "Ha!" Henry exclaimed. "Freshman 15 in a box. Tell her I said hi," he said as he walked away from the group.

Vincent continued, ignoring Henry's comment. "And, the _piece de resistance_, aged cheddar maize kernels."

Jack looked at the box as Vincent put it down. He had to figure out a way to get it through airport security. However, Vincent wasn't done.

"Oh, and one more thing. Give her this for me," Vincent said as he grabbed Jack into a tight bear hug. Jack grunted in pain and gasped for air.

"I think he's turning blue, Vincent," came the voice of Allison.

Vincent quickly put Jack down so he could turn to face his savior. At the door were an amused Allison and Tess walking in. Vincent gave an apologetic pat on Jack's shoulder.

"You have a great trip," he said, and then walked back to his kitchen.

"Thanks," Jack replied, taking a breath. "I think I cracked a rib."

Tess gave Jack a look of pity and gently rubbed his chest. "Maybe you shouldn't do that to her," she said.

Jack nodded in agreement. "I'm not gonna do that to her."

Allison chuckled and the three of them moved to the table Kevin was working at.

"You excited to see Zoe?" Allison asked while looking at the changes Kevin was making to his rocket design. Tess leaned against Jack and also looked at Kevin's changes while Jack answered.

"Uh, yeah. A little nervous." He patted Kevin on the back. "Sorry I'm gonna miss your big launch today, Kev."

Kevin looked up at him in frustration. "You may not be missing anything."

Tess was the first to respond to his lack of confidence. "Stop it. Your design is brilliant."

Allison nodded in agreement. "It'll be great." She then pointed at a section of her son's design. "Did you weld the pre-igniter in the tail service mast?"

Kevin looked up at his mother in annoyance. "No, mom. I decided to use duct tape and bubble gum. Really?" He got up and grabbed his papers. "I'll be at the launch site," he said and was out the door.

Tess and Jack gave sympathetic looks to Allison. "Well, a rocket race to the moon and back. There's no pressure on the kid," Jack said as he sat at the table with Tess.

Allison sighed. "I know. Astronautics is the one subject he gets excited about, but his test burns have been a little iffy."

"Wish we could help him more," Tess said.

"Yeah…," Allison said sadly. "I'm going to go check to see if Fargo needs help with Mansfield. Have fun on your trip, Jack. See you later, Tess?"

Tess nodded and Allison walked out of the café. Jack took Tess's hands in his. "It's tough being a parent," he said.

"It must be, especially with Allison coming back to a completely different Kevin."

Jack turned his head down towards the table after hearing Tess's statement. She looked at him, and then realized what she had just said.

"Oh, Jack," she said. "Is that what you're afraid of with Zoe?"

Jack shook his head. "Never crossed my mind," he said with an unsure look on his face.

"You've talked to her a few times since Founder's Day. Did she seem like your Zoe?"

"Seemed, yeah. I mean, when I surprise her at school, then…then I'll know if it's her."

Tess kissed Jack's hand and gave him a reassuring smile. Before they could get up to leave, Pilar rushed in.

"Sheriff Carter," she said, placing a small box on the table. "Glad I caught you. Can you give this to Zoe for me?"

He nodded, "Sure, Pilar. What is it?"

She gave him a proud look and quickly responded. "It is my very own line of totally tech cosmetics and fashion enhancements."

Tess looked at her in amazement. She should have known a teenager like Pilar would use her genius to create tools for fashion.

"Great," Jack said in a less than amused tone.

"She is going to love this," Pilar excitedly said as she pulled out a spray can. "I call it 'Match Mist by Pilar.'"

Tess was intrigued. "What does it do?"

"It is the latest in metamaterial cloaking." Pilar moved Jack's arm onto the napkin on the table. Tess watched in enjoyment.

"Say you want your shirt to match this napkin," Pilar started to explain while rolling down his sleeve.

Jack was confused. "Why would I want my shirt to match a napki-"

Before Jack could finish his sentence, Pilar sprayed her Match Mist on his sleeve. He gave a shout and watched his shirt change colors.

"Thank you, Pilar. Was that really necessary?" Jack asked in a quiet but annoyed voice. Tess did her best to keep herself from laughing.

Pilar put the can back in the box. "Tell Zoe to save some of those Ivy League hunks for me." Jack quickly turned and gave her a shocked look. Pilar paled and immediately regretted her words.

"Not that she's partaking," she said, trying to cover herself. She quickly left the café before she could say anything else she might regret to the sheriff. Tess burst into laughter at the look on Jack's face.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" he asked her. "That's not funny."

Tess quickly calmed down and gave her boyfriend a peck on the lips. "It kinda is. I like the new color on your shirt."

Jack looked at the patch on his sleeve and groaned before rolling it back up. Tess stood up. "Come on, Sheriff. Let's get you to the airport."

Tess left the airport after making Jack promise to call once he landed, and headed for the launch site. When she got there, she saw Trevor Grant, or Charles, as he was now going by, talking with Fargo and Mansfield. She headed towards the group as they gathered around Dr. Ramsey's design for the Mars colonization habitat module. It was basically a resort on Mars.

As she reached the group, she saw Mansfield taking a closer look at the design. "Where's the dome? How do you breathe?"

Grant was the first to answer. "Ah, yes. Air."

"Very important," Tess added. Mansfield looked up at the new addition to the group.

"Dr. Fontana," he greeted curtly.

"General Mansfield," she returned.

Grant continued, "Dr. Ramsey's come up with a remarkable solution to that problem."

Ramsey pulled out a small vial of a rust colored solution. "Peep it. This is TAP. Terraforming atmospheric processing fluid."

Fargo was quick with a translation for the general. "It's a radiation-activated compound that creates oxygen."

"Technically it catalyzes the photo dissociation of oxygen from rocks and soil to produce a breathable environment," Dr. Ramsey corrected.

"No dome required," added Tess.

"Word up!" Ramsey yelled. It amazed Tess how such a brilliant person could act so childish sometimes.

Mansfield nodded and responded with a forced "Boo-yah". Suddenly, the air around them became violently windy as Zane maneuvered the Sky Cruiser near them and landed. Mansfield and Fargo took off running towards him. Tess gave out a sigh and headed towards Allison and Kevin with Grant.

"Hey, Kevin. You ready?"

He nervously responded, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Allison gave her son a supportive squeeze on his shoulder as they waited for the launch.

Jack walked out of the airport and headed for the Harvard dorms. He pulled out his phone to give Tess the call he promised he give her. After a few rings, Tess answered with a frantic hello.

"Is everything okay?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Zane just fell out of the sky, but it's nothing we can't handle."

"Are you sure?" Jack worriedly replied. "I can come back."

"No, no. Jo's on the case."

Jack trusted Jo. They worked together long enough for him to know the town's in capable hands. "Okay," he started. "But call me if you need anything."

He could hear Tess smile on the other side of the phone. "We'll be fine, Jack. Go be with Zoe."

Jack gave her a quiet okay when she spoke again. "And Jack. I know you're worried, but try not to bombard Zoe with a hundred questions."

Jack jokingly scoffed, "No, I won't! Maybe a couple dozen…"

Tess laughed, "I'll talk to you later."

Jack nodded, and said a quick bye before hanging up and headed to Zoe's room.

Tess stayed with Kevin at Café Diem while Jo and Allison went to deal with Zane. She cheered as Vincent announced Kevin was currently in first place. She sat with Kevin at the counter at the start of the intermission.

"Good job, Kevin!" she said, giving him a pat on the back.

"Thanks. Hope it's still flying behind the moon."

Tess gave him a gentle nudge. "You know it is." Her phone began ringing as she saw Grant approaching them.

"I'm sorry, Kev. I gotta take this," Tess said, leaving Kevin to talk to Grant.

"Jo, what's up?"

"Tess. Dr. Ramsey just called. Said someone's been messing around in his lab. Fargo's busy with the general, so you want to check it out with me?"

Tess grabbed her coat and headed out. "I'm on my way."

She met Jo outside Ramsey's lab, who quickly greeted them and led them in.

"So, check it. Somebody stole my TAP," he said worriedly.

"That stuff you wanna use up on Mars," Jo said. Ramsey gave her an insulted look.

"That _stuff_ is like gold, man."

Tess piped in. "TAP takes _forever_ to produce. How much of it is gone, Dr. Ramsey?"

"522 milliliters."

Jo didn't look, too worried. "All it does is make air, right?"

"Really?" Ramsey said, turning to look at Jo. "That hurts me, man."

Jo looked confused, so Tess decided to explain. "Not exactly. TAP turns into self-propagating oxygen, but only if it's activated."

"Then you gotta be careful not to inhale it," Ramsey added. "That is one nasty high."

"People can use it recreationally?" Jo asked.

"Stupid people," Tess said quietly.

Then, Tess and Jo looked at each other, the same though running through their heads. "Zane…"

"Thanks, Dr. Ramsey. We'll look into it," Tess said as she and Jo rushed out of the lab. This was going to be a _fun _day.

Jack leaned against the sink in the co-ed bathroom after sending Zoe to her party. He decided to call Tess. After the conversation he just had with Zoe, he needed to hear a comforting voice.

"Hey, you. How's Zoe?"

Jack sighed, "Sharing a bathroom with boys."

Tess laughed on the other end of the phone. "Co-ed bathrooms?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah."

"It's college. Your little girl's all grown up."

"Don't remind me," Jack groaned.

"How is she really?" Tess asked earnestly.

Jack gave out a long sigh. "Hating her dad right now."

"That's not true. Where is she now?"

"I sent her to a party."

"Really?" Tess said in an amused voice.

"I know," Jack groaned. "She was mad at me. I panicked." He heard laughter come from the phone. When it died down, Tess spoke.

"Jack, whatever what you do, Zoe will always love you."

Jack smiled. "I know. Thank you," he said sincerely. Tess was amazing, and he knew he was lucky to have gotten a second chance with her.

"How're things in Eureka?"

"Oh, the usual. And Kevin's rocket is in first place," Tess answered.

"Good for him," Jack said excitedly.

"Also," Tess continued. "The town could explode."

"That's…normal," Jack said with a hint of worry. "I'm assuming you guys have a solution to that problem."

"Uh, yeah. I think we got something," Tess said reassuringly.

"Good. I leave for one day and the town's in danger of blowing up," Jack joked.

"Because when you're here, the town's_ not_ in danger," Tess quipped back. This lead to both of them laughing at the many times they saved the town. Jack turned towards the sink.

"I miss you," he said, staring a one of the faucets.

"You'll be back soon enough."

"If there's a town to go back to," he said with a smile. Then, Jack saw water drip from the faucet and a realization hit him. "Oh, no."

He turned on the water. Tess's worried voice came through the phone "Jack? What is it?"

Quickly, Jack unrolled his sleeve and began washing the patch out. He chuckled to himself. "It washes out. Tess, I gotta go. I'm about to make an invisible cat visible." He hung up on a puzzled Tess and prepared to find Mabel.

Tess stood in GD and cheered with the rest of them when Kevin successfully neutralized the excess oxygen in the air. She looked around the room and saw Larry staring at the monitor triumphantly watching his rocket.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "I've got this race in the bag."

Henry walked up next to him. "You know, it's hardly fair since we blew up the competition."

"A win's a win," Larry said. That's when Tess noticed the speed of his rocket.

"Yeah, well, you're coming in too fast," she quickly said.

"It's way off target," Henry added. "That's a residential area."

Jo quickly moved into action. "We got to get emergency crews there now. Fargo, where is that?"

Fargo hesitated to tell her.

"Fargo…what's the address?" Tess asked cautiously.

"4020 Coriolis Loop," he finally squeaked out. Tess watched as Jo's face hardened.

"What?" Larry asked, also noticing Jo's face. "Whaaat?"

Finally, Jo spoke. "That's my house."

Tess walked over to her and gave her a light squeeze on the shoulder and a quick "sorry". She walked out with Allison to assess the damage and help any injured.

Jack walked into his smart house with Jo behind him to see Tess waiting in the living room.

"Hey, Tess," he said, moving to kiss her. "Look who I found when I stopped by the office."

Jo waved a hello and moved towards the spare bedroom, feeling uncomfortable at the intimacy the couple was displaying.

"I invited her to stay here. She's apparently had a rough day," Jack explained to Tess. She nodded.

"Yeah. Her house…" she began. Jack gestured an explosion with his hands.

"Come on," Jack said, pulling her towards the main bedroom. "Let's go to bed. We've both had a long day."


	3. Crossing Over

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka or its characters.

* * *

"And what's surprising is that she hogs the TV," Jack exclaimed as he sat down at the bar next to Tess and Allison. "Lupo can watch three reality shows simultaneously. Last night she had S.A.R.A.H. and Tess voting for the guy with the eye patch all night long."

Tess and Allison laughed.

"What can I say?" Tess started. "Guys with eye patches are sexy."

Allison nodded in agreement and they both started giggling.

"Missing the point," Jack said.

"I think you like the company," Allison said.

"I know I do," Tess said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"You just like watching me suffer," Jack responded.

"That I do," Tess said with a smile. Allison laughed again.

"Admit it. You like having Jo around," Allison said.

"No, I don't," Jack replied quickly, then took a few seconds to think. "Maybe. It's nice having someone else listen to this one talk," he said, pointing his head towards Tess. She gave him a playful slap.

"Jealous of our girl talk?" she asked. Jack just gave her a look while taking a sip out of his mug.

"So jealous," Jack sarcastically responded. After a few seconds of silence between the three, Allison spoke.

"Did I tell you guys that Jenna is stacking blocks?"

"Nooo," Jack said disbelievingly.

Allison gave out a chuckle. "Look, I know that gross motor development outpaces fine motor at this age, but I'm pretty sure that she's gifted," she proudly added.

"That's awesome, Al," Tess said. Vincent walked up to the group with two coffees in his hand.

"A decaf for you and a double espresso for Charles. Tell him I said hi," he said, putting the two cups in front of Allison.

"Thank you," she said, grabbing the cups.

"Oooo, coffee for him," Tess teased with a smirk.

"Dr. Nice Gams," Jack added.

Allison was not amused at Jack and Tess's implications. "Stop it. He's quitting smoking. I thought this would take the edge off."

Tess raised her eyebrows while Jack gave out an "mhmm", both not believing her.

"And," Allison continued, "I get to test G.D.'s latest nicotine therapy."

Tess and Jack still didn't look convinced. Allison rolled her eyes and walked out with the coffees.

"'Dr. Nice Gams', huh?" Tess asked, amusement in her voice.

"Well, I mean, yeah…have you seen them?" Jack replied.

"What about my gams?" Tess asked innocently.

"They are the nicest," Jack answered, giving her a nice long kiss afterwards. Tess smiled and stood up.

"I need to go help Fargo with some 'welcome wagon,'" she said. "See you later?"

Jack nodded with a smile. She gave him another kiss and was out the door.

After finishing his breakfast, Jack walked out of Café Diem. He took a deep breath and looked up. Henry, seeing Jack, walked up to him.

"Hey, Jack. What's wrong?"

Jack sighed, "Um. I think I'm falling in love."

Henry's eyes widened in shock at the confession, but he then broke into a smile. "What's the problem with that?"

"Tess and I broke up because it wasn't working, but then we were together again, which, funny, was the same day, and now I hate being away from her. I got a second chance, and I don't want to ruin it," Jack babbled.

"Well, then don't," Henry told him.

"Yeah, easier said than done," Jack scoffed. "So, how's Grace?" Jack asked, changing the subject.

"She's coming back from the conference today," Henry answered. "I just wish I could, you know, tell her the truth."

"Yeah, I know," Jack began. He couldn't let Henry discover that Tess knew about their trip to the past. "But we can't with the protocols an-"

"I know, I know," Henry interrupted. "I mean, but she then gets stuck holding on to a past with me that no longer exists. Meanwhile, I'm beginning to feel like there's no future without her."

Jack felt bad for Henry. When Jack came back, he was in a relationship with a woman that he knew, but Henry barely knew the wife he returned to. Before Jack could respond, Fargo rushed up to them.

"Hey. What are you doing? Where are you going?" he quickly asked. He was visibly nervous.

"Uh, just doing a little thing called 'my job,'" Jack replied with a smile.

"Oh. Well, she's near, so, uh, gotta look our best," Fargo said, reaching up to button Jack's shirt.

Jack gave out a shout and tilted his head a bit. "Never do that," he said with a stern look.

Fargo gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry. Just want everyone to be perfect for our VIP."

Jack and Henry gave each other confused looks. "VIP?" Henry asked. Before he got an answer, Fargo's PDA rang and he rushed off in a panic.

"All right, listen, I gotta…" Henry said to Jack, motioning towards his truck. Jack nodded his head with a "thanks", and then turned to where Fargo sped off to: Café Diem. He saw Jo, Tess, and Fargo around a somewhat fancy table and decided to head towards them.

"Fancy seeing you here, again," he said to Tess while putting his arm around her. She gave him a smile and motioned to the table.

"Welcome wagon," she said. Vincent came out with a tray of breakfast items.

"Breakfast croissants and muffins to go, Fargo," he said while gently putting the tray on the table. "Savory and sweet."

"Ah, just like our VIP," Fargo said, pleased with how the table was looking.

"Fargo," Jack started, his arm still around Tess. "This isn't _The Bachelor_, you know."

"Yeah, says you," Fargo responded. That was when they noticed Zane walking up to the table.

"Muffins. Sweet," he said excitedly, reaching for one. Jo gave him a slap on the arm. Zane glared at her. "Oh, cut me some slack."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a car honking. Fargo immediately straightened up.

"She's here," he told anyone listening. A large black SUV pulled up, and a young redhead exited the vehicle.

" 'Sup, bitches?" she greeted nervously. Fargo turned to the group to introduce her.

"Claudia Donovan. She's from Warehouse 13," he stated before turning his attention back to Claudia.

"This isn't going to end well," Jack quietly said to Tess. She continued to watch the awkward conversation between Fargo and Claudia.

"Oh, wow. Snacks," Claudia said, looking at table.

Fargo tried to brush it off like it was nothing. "This is how we greet everybody. Come on, meet the troops," he said, leading her to them.

"On the end is Jo-," Fargo began to say, but was interrupted by Claudia.

"Jo, right? Yeah, Doug said you were a major babe who kicks major ass."

"Did he?" Jo replied, not knowing whether she should be flattered or offended. Claudia gave a nervous chuckle, and then pointed at Zane.

"Donovan?"

He lazily turned his head towards her.

"Donovan," she said again, pointing at herself. "Coincidence?"

He looked at her stoically. "There's no such thing, sweetheart."

Claudia's face fell. Fargo sensed the tension building and spoke. "Jo, can you escort Zane back to his hole?"

"Oh, whatever," Zane said as he grabbed a muffin and walked off with Jo. Claudia turned to the remaining two people.

"You must be the infamous Sheriff Carter."

"How'd you know?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"Ah, there's something sheriff-y about you," Claudia answered, waving her arm over his uniform.

"Which makes you," Claudia continued, "Tess. The sheriff-y sheriff's girlfriend."

Before Tess could say anything, Jack spoke up. "Nope, that's my other girlfriend."

Tess playfully elbowed him in the gut then waved at the very amused Claudia. "Hey."

With the introductions done, Claudia turned her attention back to Fargo. "So, Director Doug. Where's my goo?"

Tess and Jack's faces both turned to a confused disgust. Fargo saw this and quickly explained.

"I upgraded the warehouse computers to class seven standards, and I figured I could enhance their goo, too."

"Just so you know, that doesn't sound right," Jack said. Tess laughed at the comment.

"It's a neutralizing insulation to protect the artifacts during transport," Fargo explained further. "I whipped up a sample batch using alkalizing agents."

"That's very nice of you. Nice to meet you," Jack said, shaking Claudia's hand.

"Welcome to Eureka," Tess added, also shaking Claudia's hand. Jack and Tess then walked off to leave Fargo and Claudia to their goo and headed towards Tess's Audi.

"I need to get back to G.D.," Tess said. "We're almost done with the repairs on Tiny."

"Be careful. That thing hurt you once, already," Jack said worriedly.

"That was the red elf," Tess said reassuringly.

"I hate elves."

Tess gave him a look of pity. "I know, honey. I'll be fine. See you later." With a hug and a kiss, she was off to G.D.

As the day went on, Tess began hearing words about trees in the rotunda and rushed up from Section 5 to see what the fuss was about. She saw Jack with Fargo and headed their way.

"Hey," she greeted. "Nice forest."

"Thanks. I grew it myself," Jack joked. Henry walked up to them with his analysis.

"They are _Sequoia Sempervirens_. Redwoods indigenous to Eureka."

"They're inside and fused to the building," Jack said.

"Well, no," Tess responded. "Look at damage. The trees appear to have displaced the floor and ceiling."

"Yeah," Henry agreed. "I've never seen anything like it."

"One day of getting to like I know what I'm doing. Was that too much to ask for?" Fargo complained.

Tess and Jack nodded. "Evidently."

Claudia walked over to the group and excitedly began talking about her findings.

"Should she be seeing this?" Jack asked worriedly. They barely let him see some of the things he did around G.D., let alone a visitor to the town.

"She signed a non-disclosure statement," Jo replied.

"You can trust me. I was a campfire girl," Claudia added. Fargo turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"Please tell me you kept the uniform," he said a little too eagerly.

"Okay…" Tess began before Fargo could say any other creepy things. "Claudia, I'm sure Henry would appreciate your help if you want to stick around."

"I was going to suggest the same thing," Henry said.

"Yeah, totally," Claudia responded excitedly. Tess, Jack and Fargo watched Henry and Claudia walk off.

"She's awesome, isn't she?" Fargo said dreamily.

"A little shy, though. Needs to come out of her shell," Jack said. Tess held in a laugh and watched Fargo walk away.

"Our little Fargo's growing up," Jack said once Fargo was out of earshot.

"Yeah…" Tess turned to face Jack. "Shall we go assist in the deforestation of the G.D. building?"

"I thought you had to deal with Tiny today."

"Well, if you don't want my company…" Tess replied turning to head back to Section 5. Before she could take a step, Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her with him to go find Claudia and Henry.

They worked with Henry, Grace and Claudia, to find out where the trees could have come from. Jack was proud that he contributed to the cause with his knowledge of tree rings. As they continued working, Jack received a text message. When he read it, his face dropped. Tess saw this and went to him.

"What is it?"

He looked up from his phone at her. "It's Jo. They're prepping her for emergency surgery."

Tess gave him a stern look. "Go." He nodded and took off for medical.

Jack waited patiently in the waiting room for news. Jo may not have been deputy anymore, but she was still his partner. Finally, Allison came out.

"Hey. How's she doing?" Jack asked walking towards her.

"She'll be home with you soon watching reality TV," Allison replied.

Jack relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. As he continued talking to Allison, Tess came up to them with a worried look. Jack turned to her and gave her a smile.

"She's okay."

Tess let out her own sigh of relief and gave Jack a hug.

"Claudia has the test results on the trees," she told him after letting go.

"Can you..?" Jack asked, pointing towards where Jo was.

Tess nodded, "Yeah, I'll stay with her." He then rushed off to return to Claudia.

Allison walked with Tess into the medical wing. "Things are going well with Jack, it seems."

Tess flushed in embarrassment at her friend's question, and then gave a nod.

"Yeah. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm falling for him all over again," she said, careful not to reveal her knowledge of their trip to the past. "What about you? Old Spice seems to be taking a shining to you."

Allison gave out a laugh. "'Old Spice?' You are just like Carter."

"That doesn't answer the question." They stopped when they reached Jo's bed. She was sleeping soundly after her surgery.

"He's…persistent, but I don't know how I feel about him," Allison said after a moment of thought. Before Tess could respond, Allison was called away by one of the nurses. Tess sat down next to Jo and waited.

After a while, Tess decided to give Jack a call to see how things were going. She got up and walked into the hallway with her phone.

"Hey, Jack. You guys find anything?"

"Yeah. A plane from the 1940s," he told her.

Tess laughed, "Right, you found a plane from 60 years ago. " When Jack didn't respond, she stopped laughing. "Wait, are you serious? Where?"

"Café Diem. Appeared just like those redwoods in the rotunda did. Probably the same way that bullet got into Jo. How is she?"

"Still sleeping. She's tough. She'll be hogging your TV in no time."

"Don't sound so happy about it," Jack said. She could hear his smile through the phone. "Listen," he continued, his voice much more serious. "We think this has to do with the machine that sent us back in time."

"Jack, I thought you said that machine was destroyed."

"They rebuilt it, Grant and Henry," Jack responded, trying to hide the anger in his voice.

"Okay. What can I do to help?" Tess asked. She knew what might happen if it wasn't stopped.

"Nothing. Stay with Jo until this is over," Jack told her sternly.

"But Jack-"

"Tess, no."

Tess nodded her head. "Okay." She understood why he was telling her to stay put. She wasn't supposed to know about the machine. She walked back into the medical wing and saw Zane sitting in her seat, watching Jo. Those two had a connection, and Tess saw it. She stood back and watched as Jo woke up and started talking to Zane. Allison walked up next to her.

"There's something there between those two," Tess said, sensing Allison's presence. Allison just quietly watched with Tess. When Zane left, Allison headed towards Jo to talk to her, Tess in tow.

After explaining to Jo what happened, Allison received a message and left the medical wing, no doubt to meet with Henry and Jack. Tess sighed and sat down next to Jo.

"Are you okay?" she heard Jo ask.

Tess smiled and looked at Jo. "I should be asking you that." They chatted for a while, mostly laughing at stories about Jack. Several stories later, Jo asked for her tablet. Tess handed it to her.

"Is my company that terrible?" she joked.

Jo shook her head. "No, I just need to check on some things. I am still head of security here."

"Jack probably won't be happy to see you working in your condition." Right as she said those words, Grant was rushed into the medical wing with Allison, Henry and Jack following. They hooked him up to an IV and began playing the waiting game.

Jack walked over to where Tess was sitting and put his hands on her shoulders. He then noticed Jo working on her tablet.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"My job," Jo responded, looking over some files.

"I'd tell you not to, but I think I know you better than that by now," Jack said.

Jo ignored him and began showing him her info. "More objects keep coming through, and we detected an explosion right here."

Jack grabbed her tablet when he saw where she was pointing.

"What is it?" Tess asked quickly.

He took a closer look at the info on the tablet. "That's where we sent Fargo and Claudia."

"That used to be a mine field," Jo told him.

"You don't think…?" Tess asked, turning to look at Jack.

He responded simply with "It's Fargo."

Jo gave Jack instructions on the location of the infrasonic defuser he could use on the mines and he quickly left, leaving Tess and Jo in the medical wing.

"He won't get them confused," Tess reassured Jo, and then paused to think. "Right?" she asked, suddenly unsure.

Jo shrugged and turned back to her tablet. It was only a few minutes later that they heard alarms coming from Grant's monitors. They watched as Henry and Allison worked to save his life. He didn't look good, but if anyone could save him, it was those two. Before long, Grant's convulsions stopped, and Tess and Jo felt the building shake. The bullet Jo had put on the tray next to her bed disappeared, and Tess took that as a good sign.

"Looks like they may have just saved the day…again," Tess said, turning to look at Jo. After a few swipes and taps on her tablet, Jo agreed.

"I'm ready to go home," Jo said tiredly as she put her tablet down and laid her head back in relief. It had been a long day or everyone.

Tess drove Jo back to the smart house and watched reality shows with her while waiting for Jack. As they chatted about the different contestants, S.A.R.A.H. announced his return. Tess gave Jo a quick goodbye and moved to meet Jack at the door.

"You will not believe how I found Fargo and Claudia. She was lying on him on a mine. Apparently they fell when he saved her from a different mine," Jack said to Tess when he saw her. She smiled at his enthused voice.

"You can tell me more about it tomorrow. I need to go back to my place," she told him with a kiss.

"Why? Stay the night," Jack pleaded while wrapping his arms around her.

"I want to, but I need to get up early tomorrow for a test drive with Tiny," she said, leaning into his embrace. He kissed her head and walked her to her car.

Jack walked back into the house and grabbed two glasses of beer, one for him and one for Jo. He saw her looking at the ring Zane proposed with and tried to lighten the mood.

"Cervezas?" he asked, offering her the drink.

"Gracias." She said in return, taking it. "You're okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jack answered. "I just wish Tess had stayed. I like having her here."

"She probably went to her husband's house," Jo joked.

"Thanks for making me feel better, Jo," Jack said, not wanting to think about that possibility. "It sucks that she had to go home."

"Well, then get off your ass and do something about it," she said bluntly. He cocked his head at her words.

"Noted."


	4. Momstrosity

Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka or its characters.

* * *

Tess walked out and into the kitchen with Jack closely following.

"Do you have to go to work today?" Jack asked, getting coffee for the both of them.

"Just because you've got the day off doesn't mean the rest of the world does," Tess said as she leaned her back against the kitchen island to face him. She took the mug of coffee he offered her and took a sip before continuing. "And, we are sending Tiny off to NASA today."

"Already? It seems like just yesterday she was destroying the streets of Eureka," he said, remembering the first disaster of the new timeline.

"I told you that wasn't her fault. She's ready," Tess replied.

"Well," Jack said, putting his mug down and wrapping his arms around her. "I'm proud of you." He gave her a kiss when they heart a shout from Jo.

"Carter!"

Jack turned his head towards the sound. "Oh, boy," he sighed. Tess finished her coffee and grabbed her bag.

"I've got to stop by my house before heading to G.D.," she said, walking to the door with Jack closely following.

"Be safe on your camping trip," she added, turning around to give him a quick kiss.

"Oh, I'm always safe. It's everyone else that isn't," he replied. Tess smiled at his witty response and was out the door, leaving Jack to deal with Jo.

After going through her standard preliminary tests on Tiny, Tess headed to the medical wing to talk to Allison, the acting head of G.D. while Fargo was camping. As she approached the door, she saw Jack walk out.

"Hey. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be packing," she asked, surprised.

"I'm about to go pack now. I had to give Allison Kevin's homework. It's been spying on Jo in the shower," Jack answered.

"Ah, this morning," Tess recalled. Jack nodded his head and gave her a quick kiss.

"I'll see you later," he said then walked off. Tess walked into the medical bay just as Fargo was leaving.

"Boss checking up on you already?" she asked as she walked up to Allison.

Allison sighed, "Sometimes I wonder how he became the boss."

Tess gave out a laugh.

"So, what's up?" Allison said, directing her full attention to her best friend.

"I just need you to sign off on a few things before Tiny is officially on her way to NASA," Tess responded, handing her tablet over to Allison.

"You must be excited," Allison said as she looked over the documents before signing them.

"Yeah," Tess replied excitedly. "Six years on Titan. Who knows what we'll discover? What secrets we'll uncover?"

Allison smiled at how giddy Tess was getting just talking about Tiny and the Titan project. She handed the tablet back to her. Tess smiled in thanks and turned to walk out. Before she left, Allison spoke.

"Have you seen a little a little robot around here?"

Tess looked around, shook her head, and left for the loading dock. When she arrived at the dock, she decided to give Tiny one last inspection before sending it off to NASA. During the inspection, Tess noticed something off about Tiny's weight. She began looking through the compartment bins built into Tiny when she found it: an adorable little robot.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she took the robot out of the compartment. It chirped at her and waved its little arms around. It was cute, but didn't belong in the loading dock. Tess alerted Jo of the stowaway and then proceeded to continue her inspection on Tiny.

When Jo arrived to the loading dock, Tess showed her the robot.

"You have got to be kidding me," Jo said as soon as she saw it. The robot chirped while waving its arms at her, as if it was trying to say "Hello, again!" Jo gave it a nod in return. "Mhmm. Kevin's homework."

"This is what spied on you in the shower this morning? It's so cute," Tess told her.

Jo glared at it as it chirped some more. "It has footage of me in the shower. I should shoot it, now."

Tess turned the robot away from Jo to protect it. "I think Allison was looking for this earlier. Tiny's all loaded up, so I'll deliver this little guy myself."

"Good," Jo said. "I never want to see that thing again."

Tess walked up to Allison in medical with the robot in her arms. "I think I found what you were looking for earlier."

Allison looked up from her work and saw the little robot as it chirped at her.

"Oh, thanks! I need to get this to Kevin before he leaves for the woods," she said as she sat up from her chair.

"Want some company? Tiny's all ready to go, so I'm free for a couple of hours," Tess offered.

Allison grabbed her coat and took the robot from Tess. "Let's go," she said with a smile, knowing Tess was looking for an excuse to see Jack.

They pulled up to the front of the house and heard the guys loading up in the back. Allison grabbed the robot, which she explained to Tess was an EMO, and together they walked through the house to the back.

"Forget something?" Allison asked Kevin as she walked up to him. "You can't keep neglecting your EMO and expect to get a good grade."

"So I'll lower my expectations," Kevin said as he took the EMO his mother handed him. Tess snickered at the comment and walked over to Jack to give him a hug.

"Have fun. Stay safe," she told him.

"I told you," Jack responded, taking her hands in his. "I'm always safe."

Tess gave Jack a smile, and then they saw Allison pull Kevin into a hug. Kevin shot Jack a look and quietly begged him to get his mother off.

"Okay, I think it's time that the menfolk got outta town," Jack said, quickly moving to Kevin's rescue. Tess helped Jack load up the rest of the stuff when Grant walked up to them.

"Room for one more?" he asked with his pack over his shoulder. Jack looked back at the sound of the voice and saw Grant.

"I hate that guy," he muttered. Tess put a hand on his arm to try to keep him calm. She knew Jack had an issue with Grant since he learned that Grant purposely tried to strand him in 1947.

"Allison told me you're taking Kevin camping," Grant continued. "If there's one or two things I know, it's about the great outdoors. Besides, a weekend away with the boys sounds like fun."

Tess carefully looked a Jack to gauge his reaction. A weekend with Grant was not something Jack would enjoy. Jack glanced at Tess before walking up to Grant.

"That's not really what I had in mind," he told him as calmly as he could.

"Well, that's a shame," Grant said before turning to Allison. "In that case, you got any plans this weekend?"

As much as Jack disliked Grant, he disliked the idea of him dating Allison even more. After being Allison's birthing coach a few months prior, he felt like he had an obligation to protect her from scumbags like Grant. Like a brother protects a sister.

"Well, look, all right," Jack stammered right as Fargo pulled up in his blue Subaru. "Wow, look. There seems to be plenty of room in Fargo's car. Why don't you jump in with him?"

"All right, you boys play nice," Allison said as she headed back in the house.

Tess watched as Jack walked back to her and silently groaned.

"Not likely," he said quietly to her.

"Try not to kill him," she said before giving him a quick kiss and following Allison back into the house.

Jack sighed and got in the vehicle with Kevin. This was not going to be the camping trip he was hoping for.

After watching Kevin walk off with Grant to see fire, Jack decided he needed to earn some brownie points with the kid. He went into the muTent Fargo brought and looked around.

"Fargo, you got anything in here that can start fires?" he asked as he started poking around the many gadgets that were in the tent. Fargo handed him a laser pointer like device.

"This looks like a laser pointer, Fargo," Jack said as he brought it up to point it at something. Before he could press the button, Fargo yelled and grabbed it from him.

"I assure you, this laser is powerful enough to start a fire. Don't go pointing it at just anything," Fargo said, handing it back to Jack.

"O-kay." Jack said before walking out of the tent to find Grant and Kevin. He found them sitting around an unlit campfire, Grant struggling to get one started. He fired the laser at the pile of wood and watched as the fire started.

"Handy little gadget. Found it in Fargo's man cave," Jack said smugly as he walked up to the two.

"Not exactly playing fair, are you, sport?" Grant said.

"Well, I've reconsidered my position. I figure, why pretend like we're in the 1940s when things are so much better now?" Jack said with a bit of arrogance. "I downloaded that game you were talking about. _Zombie Test Pilot_," he continued, turning to Kevin and handing him the gamepad. "Go nuts, buddy."

Jack was confident he won the coolest adult award from Kevin when he handed that gamepad over. Then Grant spoke.

"I hate to say it, but I think you may be overstepping your authority there, pal-o. I had drinks last night with Allison. Well, drinks, a date. You could call it a date. She made it quite clear she didn't want Kevin to play with the new game until he finishes his EMO assignment."

Then the arguing started. Jack pointed out that Allison trusts his judgment on a lot of things. Grant pointed out that it was he, not Jack, that was dating Allison.

"Look, _pal-o_," Jack started, stepping closer to Grant. "Allison's like a sister to me, and she doesn't need a distraction like you in her life."

"A distraction? Is that what kids call boyfriends these days?" Grant returned, showing no signs of backing down.

They continued to argue, ready to get physical, when Jack noticed Kevin was gone. "Where's Kevin?" Grant and Jack both looked around before taking off to look for the teenager in the woods.

Back at G.D., Tess, Allison and Jo were waiting for Zane to complete his diagnostic on ANDY.

"This is crazy, but all level six A.I. systems have been infected with the same foreign subroutine," Zane said while he looked through the data on his screen.

"Which does what, exactly?" Allison asked.

"Well, it doesn't exactly have an exactly. It's some kind of emotion-generating program which could produce any number of behaviors depending on the system running it," Zane said, trailing off towards the end as he watched ANDY stroke Jo's arm. They began listing off the machines that they had trouble with earlier in the day, including ANDY.

"So, their feelings are overriding their original programming," Tess said, trying to think of other level six A.I. programs that could potentially become dangerous. As Allison and Zane continued talking, Tess had a horrific realization.

"Um, guys," she said, getting their attention. "Tiny's a level six A.I., and she's on her way to NASA."

Allison jumped into action.

"Jo, contact the driver to the truck. Tess, find out where that truck is. Zane, find a way to eradicate that program."

Everyone hustled. They knew how dangerous Tiny could get. Jo spent a few minutes on her phone before informing the group that the driver was not picking up. Tess looked up from her tablet and spoke.

"The truck is on the road out of town."

"My team is mobilizing as we speak," Jo said. Her phone started ringing. While Jo was on the phone, Allison began talking to Tess.

"Was Tiny in the truck?"

"No. The initial report I received indicated Tiny used her laser to break out. Al, that truck is near where Jack said they were camping," Tess said worriedly. Then Allison's face dropped.

"Oh, no. Kevin."

Just then, Jo got off the phone.

"Zane, did all level six A.I.s need to be plugged into the mainframe to be infected?" she asked.

"Yeah," Zane answered quickly. Jo began putting the pieces together.

"ANDY, when did you start liking me?"

"8:27 this morning," ANDY answered proudly.

"We need to go," Jo said, grabbing Zane and ANDY while Tess and Allison left to go to the location of the truck that was transporting Tiny.

Once Jo got the truth to what happened from S.A.R.A.H., she left ANDY and Zane in the smart house to solve the problem while she went to rejoin her team. She arrived all armored up and headed for Allison.

"Why would Tiny take off like that?" she asked.

"Well, she's leaving on a six year mission to Titan," Allison explained, worry showing all over her face. "Maybe she got cold feet."

Allison began explaining to Jo what Tiny was capable of, including firing a laser that's capable of cutting through a small planet. Tess frantically walked up to them with her phone in hand.

"Jack's still not picking up."

"What's up?" Jo asked, confused as to why they would be calling the sheriff. She was completely capable of handling the situation.

"Jack and Kevin are camping in the perimeter, and no one is answering their phone," Allison said, frustrated and worried that they couldn't reach the group of campers. Tess looked equally as worried and began calling Jack again.

"Don't worry," Jo assured them. "I never miss."

Jack and Grant were still looking for Kevin in the woods, blaming each other for the teen running away.

"I shouldn't have let you come," Jack said. He was angry and doing his best to not deck Grant and leave him in the woods.

"Well, it wouldn't have happened if you had invited me in the first place," Grant responded, referring to Kevin running off.

Jack stopped and turned around, confused. "What?"

"Listen, Jack," Grant began to explain. "Being a man out of time, not as much fun as it sounds."

"And whose fault is that?" Jack angrily replied. "You almost made me a man out of time, taking my jacket just so you could have the PDA."

Grant looked at Jack. He was done trying to be friends with the sheriff. "Forget it. Let's find the kid."

They continued to search until it got dark when they finally found Kevin. He emerged from behind a tree will his EMO strapped to his back. Jack gave out a sigh of relief.

"Look, I know that you're mad, and normally I don't condone violence, but if you want me to hold Grant down, then—"

Jack was cut off by Kevin.

"Why do you care who my mom dates?"

Jack was a bit stunned by the question, but managed to stammer out a response. "What? I'm just trying to protect her from this slimy—"

"Hey, now," Grant interjected.

"You don't think I can protect my mom? I'm the man in my family. I protect them, not you," Kevin angrily said.

"I'm sorry," Jack began to apologize. "It's just that…your mom is like a sister to me, and I feel like I need to protect you guys, but if you don't want me to…"

"I don't want you to!" Kevin spat out.

"You can take a moment to mull that over if you want," Jack said almost jokingly.

"Don't you trust me?" Kevin asked. Jack paused to think. He didn't know how to answer. Kevin scoffed at the hesitance and turned to return to the campsite. Grant walked up to Jack, no doubt to make a snide comment, but Jack walked off before he could speak.

As they slowly made their way back to the campsite, they heard a shout from the distance. Grant and Jack both ran towards the noise, bumping into Kevin along the way, and found Fargo on the ground, immobilized by the tent wrapped around his body.

"Fargo, wha—" Jack asked, moving to free the man, but was silenced by Fargo.

"Shh, I saw something in the woods," he whispered. All four men went silent and began to listen for movement. The sound of branches snapping and feet stomping were heard as Tiny emerged from the darkness.

"Holy frak, the Titan rover," Fargo loudly whispered as he saw the machine. Jack quickly took charge as he tried to talk to Tiny, but soon, the four were running through the woods for their lives with a laser-bearing Tiny chasing them. They made it into ditch to hide, but Jack knew they needed to get back to town.

He flanked the rover and looked for a way to distract it so the others could get to the cars. After looking around, Jack saw a large rock and picked it up.

"Tess is not going to appreciate this," he mumbled quietly to himself. "Hey, big Titan rover!" he called out as he chunked the rock at it as hard as he could. Jack continued to yell at Tiny and gained its attention. Jack silently cheered until he heard the sound of a laser charging. With a shout, he dove for cover behind a tree and hoped the others got enough of a head start to beat Tiny to the cars.

Once he was sure the rover wasn't going to fire anymore lasers at him, Jack to his Jeep, only to find it demolished. Again. He sprinted towards the sounds of destruction when Fargo's Subaru skid to a stop in front of him.

"Come with me if you want to live," Fargo quoted after he opened the door. Jack jumped in and yelled at Fargo to go.

"This car have a phone?" Jack said, looking around the dash.

"Hands free, crystal clear," Fargo said as he continued to speed down the road.

"Great, just call Tess," Jack said quickly before realizing it was hands free. "Carter for Tess," he commanded the vehicle. It didn't even finish ringing once when Tess picked up.

"Jack! Tiny's been infected with an emotional attachment patch and she's in your vicinity."

Tess heard shouts on the other side of the line, letting her know they found it. She moved to where Allison was tracking the rover.

"Jack, we're going to upload her location into the GPS of Fargo's car. You need to lead Tiny down the mountain to where Jo's team is. They'll immobilize Tiny," Tess instructed.

"Okay," Jack responded. He then heard Allison on the line.

"Carter, is Kevin safe?"

Kevin heard this and reassured her mother. "I'm fine, but I am never going camping again."

Allison sighed in relief and gave the phone back to Tess.

"Jack, be careful," Tess said before hanging up.

Fargo managed to maneuver the vehicle to the bottom of the mountain and was almost at the barricade G.D. had set up when Tiny knocked a tree into their path. Fargo skid to a stop and got out of the car with the others. They ran for the barricade when Tiny came up behind them and knocked Grant, Fargo, and Jack down before pinning Kevin.

"Kevin!" Allison shouted as she ran out towards her son. Jo's team came up behind her, weapons raised. "Jo, stop. If you short her out, she'll collapse on Kevin."

Jack, still groggy from being knocked away, pulled himself together and ran up to stop Tiny from killing Kevin. As he pushed against the laser, he saw Tess running towards him.

"Jack!"

"Tess, no. Stay there!" he commanded. She stopped in her tracks and watched as Allison frantically tried to pull Kevin out from under the rover. Grant soon ran up to assist Jack in keeping the laser away from the teenager, but Allison still couldn't free her son.

"Get away from him, you bitch!" Allison yelled at the rover, but only received her phrase repeated back to her. It was then that Jack noticed the EMO in Kevin's backpack.

"The attachment patch," he said in realization. "Tiny wants EMO. Give her EMO!" he quickly instructed. Allison pulled the small robot out of Kevin's bag and placed it on the ground, freeing it. Tiny retracted its laser and grabbed the small EMO after releasing Kevin. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the rover stand down.

Tess ran up to Jack and hugged him as tight as she could, Kevin doing the same to his mother.

"I'm okay," Jack told Tess as he pulled her off of him to look in her eyes. "I'm okay." They both turned and saw Allison examining her son before pulling him into another hug.

"Nothing like being pinned by a killer robot to make you want your mom," Jack said. Tess nodded in agreement before wrapping her arms around Jack to give him another hug. Jack returned the embrace and turned his head towards Grant, who was standing, quite awkwardly, next to them.

"We're lucky you were here," Jack told him.

On the way back home, Jack stopped by Henry's garage to check up on him.

"Hey, Henry. I heard about the head thing. You okay?"

Henry looked up from his work. "I should be asking you that. Heard you got into a fight with Tiny."

"Oh, she was no match," Jack replied with a smile. Henry returned the smile before giving Jack a serious look.

"Jack, I told Grace. About the trip to the past." He tried to read Jack's face, but it remained stoic.

"What about the one rule to not tell anybody?" Jack asked. Henry looked down, ashamed.

"I know, I know. But I couldn't keep the truth from her. Not if I was going to try to make the relationship work," Henry answered while gesturing wildly and pacing back and forth. Suddenly, Jack started laughing. Henry stopped at the sound and turned to look at Jack, who had a large grin on his face.

"I told Tess," Jack said. "A while ago."

Henry looked upset. "You what?!"

"Hey, you just told Grace!" Jack shot back. Henry sighed then sat down on a bench.

"We both have problems," he chuckled. Jack gave him a pat on the back.

"Well, who doesn't?"

Henry gave out a sigh. "How did Tess take it?" he asked his friend. "Because Grace did not take it well."

"Well, we're still together," Jack said with a smile. He saw the dejected look on Henry's face gave him some words of wisdom.

"Look, buddy. If you're meant to be together, you'll be together. It won't be easy, but if anyone can do it, it's my best friend Henry," he said before leaving and heading home for the night.

The next morning, Jack came out of his bedroom, ready for a new day.

"Isn't it the loveliest of mornings, Sheriff Carter?" S.A.R.A.H. happily greeted while making coffee.

Jack was a bit unsettled at the cheeriness of his house. "Uh, yeah," he answered. "No thanks on the coffee, S.A.R.A.H. Tess and I are gonna grab Vinspressos. Jo?" he asked the remaining occupant. Tess came out of the bedroom while Jo emerged from the bathroom.

"None for me either," Jo said. The three of them met in the kitchen for food and froze when they saw ANDY come out of a closet buckling his belt. ANDY turned and chuckled nervously when he saw them staring.

"Oh, I don't wanna know."

After getting over the awkwardness of knowing his house was dating his robot deputy, Jack finally made it to Café Diem with Tess. As soon as they walked in, Jack spotted Kevin.

"Uh, go ahead and grab the coffees. I'll be right there," he told Tess, giving her a quick kiss on the head before heading over to Kevin.

"So what are we doing this weekend, huh?" Kevin asked with a smile. "Slaying dragons?"

"Yeah, I guess camping wasn't the best of ideas, but you have to admit, it wasn't boring," Jack said, taking a seat next to the teen.

"Yeah," Kevin agreed.

"And I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable out there," Jack said apologetically. "Just know that if you want to talk, my door's open. And if not, that's cool too."

Kevin nodded in appreciation. "Okay, thanks."

Jack got up to leave, but before walking away, he decided to turn and speak to Kevin again. "About the other thing you asked me about. I do trust you. If you think Grant's good with your mom, I'm cool with it."

"Really?" Kevin asked doubtingly.

"No, but I'll get used to it." Jack truthfully answered.

"He makes my mom happy," Kevin said. "But I'll kick him to the curb if that stops."

Jack smiled at the teen, glad they came to an understanding. Jack began walking back to Tess, but stopped when he saw Grant sitting at a table reading the paper. It was time to extend an olive branch.

"Hey, Grant," Jack said as he walked up to the man. Grant looked up at him, but didn't say a word, so Jack continued speaking. "If Kevin thinks you're okay, I won't give you any more trouble. But I'm watching you."

He turned and finally made it back to Tess.

"What was that all about?" she asked while handing him a Vinspresso.

Jack gladly accepted the coffee and answered, "Tying up some lose ends. Remind me to never go camping again."


End file.
